Jacques Herbin 1798 Diamant Bleu — Ink Review #213
Jacques Herbin 1798 Diamant Bleu
Ink Review # 213
Originally posted on FPN: Nov 20, 2025
Ink: Jacques Herbin 1798 Diamant Bleu
Brand: Jacques Herbin
Country: France
Available: 50 ml bottles worldwide.
Pens Used: Pilot Kakuno EF, Kaweco Sport (EF/F/M/B/BB/stub 1.9) , Noodler’s Nibcreaper fitted with a Waterman M2 flex nib.
This is gorgeous, well-lubricated, wet navy ink with silver shimmer. Dry times are quite short on Rhodia. It’s excellent on copy paper with most nibs, but there’ll be some bleed-through with wet pens.
The 1798 series celebrates the date Herbin started making inks.
The shading is most striking on all the Japanese papers shown below.
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🧪 Chroma
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✍️ Writing Samples (scan)
JEF stands for Japanese EF nib.
Rhodia / Iroful
Midori /Tomoe River 68gsm
Hammermill 20lb
Rhodia/ Iroful
Midori / Tomoe River 68 gsm
Hammermill 20 lb copy paper
Close-up
🔍 Comparison
💧 Water Test
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🎨 Artwork
The curse of the blue diamond
Mouse's ancestors lived in the Louvre Palace when it was just a castle. Over the centuries, they amassed many shiny objects during the intrigues, duels, and the Liaisons dangereuses. On one of his explorations, Mouse came upon a unique diamond, the Diamant Bleu. Some say it was a gift brought by Louis IX during the Crusades, that it was cursed, as attested by Nostradamus, Catherine de Medici’s secret soothsayer: when the brilliant blue leaves the darkness, red will follow after. Was it the end of the Valois dynasty under her regency or was it the red of St. Bartholomew’s massacre? Some point to the recent heist of the Crown Jewels of France from the Louvre. Mouse thought that by bringing it to the cat jeweler, he might change the course of history; after all blue is the colour of calm.
Jacques Herbin 1798 - Diamant Bleu, 1670 - Opal Nocturne, Tintenlabor Basalt Irongall ink, Talens Mixed Media Notebook.
INKTOBER52 PROMPT NO.46 - Sneaker
It has been said that when the Portuguese court absconded to Brazil during the Napoleonic Wars, there was no one to care for the many orphans. So when an orphaned Kitty (assuming a Scottish sailor as a father) cried itself out at the shores of Belém Tower in Lisbon and lamented its fate, one of the monks sneaked out a Pastéis de Nata, reserved only for monks and kings. The sweetness of the pastry forged a friendship and changed their fate (fado).
Jacques Herbin 1798 - Bleu Diamant Shimmer ink, J Herbin Bouton d'or, Tintenlabor Basalt iron gall ink. Talens Mixed media notebook.
- What I Liked: Wetness, lubrication, colour on most papers, price.
- What I Did Not Like: Shimmer, colour on other papers.
- What Some Might Not Like: Price, shimmer.
- Writing Experience: Excellent.
- Pros: Wetness, lubrication, colour.
- Cons: Not waterproof, shimmer, price,
🧷 Ink Characteristics
- Shading: Good on most papers.
- Ghosting: With wet/ wide nibs.
- Bleed Through: With wet/ wide nibs.
- Flow Rate: Wet
- Lubrication: Excellent.
- Nib Dry-out: Did not notice.
- Start-up: Excellent
- Saturation: Saturated.
- Sheen: Very faint red sheen where ink puddles.
- Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Did not notice.
- Nib Creep / Crud: Did not notice.
- Staining (Pen):
- Clogging: No.
- Cleaning: I used a pen jacuzzi to clean my pens. But I’m guessing it should be easy to clean.
- Water Resistance: None.
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💬 Closing
I’m not a fan of shimmer inks. However, I enjoyed writing with this one, there’s something subtle about silver and navy. And writing with it on Iroful was like a dream in heaven.
No fountain pens were hurt in preparing this review. ;)
Please don’t hesitate to share your experience, writing samples, or any other comments — the more the merrier. :)
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